Workout Routines for Women

Workout routines for women are everywhere, but do women need to train differently to men to burn fat and lose weight and do women respond in different ways to exercise?

In short, the answer to the first question is no!

It’s a question I get asked a lot and the response I give is always the same – there is absolutely no reason for men and women to train differently.

After all – isn’t a good exercise a good exercise and an effective workout an effective workout? Why would it be any different for women than for men?

Do women respond differently to exercise? In some ways they do, but the principles of exercise apply equally to men and women.

You overload your body through exercise, your body adapts and you progress at your next workout by working a little harder.

Workout Routines for Women

The one thing that most women are worried about is bulking up if they do strength training – working out with weights or bodyweight exercises.

Most women’s main motivator to exercise, and I do generalize, is weight loss and they tend to equate resistance training with big muscles and weight gain.

So, let’s take a look at three of the most common myths surrounding workout routines for women and why women can benefit from following exactly the same workouts as men.

Myths Surrounding Workout Routines for Women

However, whilst men tend to develop larger muscles due to their higher levels of testosterone, women don’t and instead tend to develop denser, more toned muscles.Myth #1. I’ll get big muscles if I workout with weights – Resistance training helps to build muscle and as muscle is responsible for most of the calories we burn each day, then that’s a good thing. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn and the quicker you lose that body fat.

Research shows that a woman would need to exercise around 10 times as hard as a man to generate similar levels of muscle growth to compensate for their lower levels of testosterone, and that ain’t gonna happen!

The most effective way to lose body fat and to keep it off is through maximising lean body mass and the only way to do that is through intense resistance training – with weights, machines or your own bodyweight.

Women will not develop big bulky physiques as long as you eat a healthy, calorie controlled diet. You will, though develop a lean, toned and shapely figure.

Myth #2. I need to do lots of cardio to burn fat– Because most women exercise to burn fat and lose weight, as do most men, they are told to do lots of low to moderate cardio in the ‘fat burning zone’ because conventional wisdom recommends that that’s most effective for weight loss.

Workout routines based on long, boring cardio workouts will not result in significant fat loss – instead, workout routines for women, and men, should combine strength training and interval training instead of low intensity cardio for the best and fastest results.

Myth #3. I need to focus on my problem areas where I have the most fat – many workout routines for women are full of upper thigh exercises, butt exercises, ab exercises, all supposedly designed to trim away fat from those problem areas where women tend to store fat.

The problem is though, that you can’t spot reduce. Doing lots of triceps exercises will not get rid of those bingo wings and endless ab exercises will not result in a flat stomach or a six pack.

Your body takes fat equally from its fat stores to fuel exercise and your metabolism and not disproportionately from those problem areas when targeted by isolation exercises.

The most effective exercises to reduce body fat are those that use the most muscle groups, burn the most calories and that build the most lean tissue.

Compound exercises like squats, bench presses or push ups, pull ups, deadlifts – exercises that often will not feature prominently in workout routines for women.

So what are the Best Workout Routines for Women?

Simple – the same workout routines that are the best for men!

Short, intense workouts that burn the most calories and body fat in the shortest period of time and that can be easily accommodated in a busy lifestyle.

Women should not be afraid of high intensity resistance training as this is the key to a lean, firm physique.

So if you’re not already training with weights or doing a bodyweight workout get started straight away and you’ll quickly and significantly increase the effectiveness of your weight loss and fitness efforts.

If you’re looking for workout routines for women that can be done in three, 45 minute workouts a week then you may be interested in our Turbulence Training review – probably the best workout routines for women that we’ve come across to date